Annual Research & Review in Biology

The experiment was conducted with the objective of providing more information on the physiology and rumen microbial ecology of goats fed municipal organic solid waste treated with Diastic microbes of snails (Achatina achatina). The study was on the treated and untreated municipal organic solid waste as components of experimental diet. Balanced rations containing diets; A = 45% untreated municipal organic waste (UMOW), B = 45% treated municipal organic waste (TMOW), and C = 70% treated municipal organic waste (TMOW), with wheat offal, palm kernel cake, and molasses used to balance the diets. Where grass/legume ratio of 3 parts of Panicum maximum and 1 part of Centrocema were fed across treatments at the same proportion. The three rations were fed to 18 unsex Red Sokoto goats aged between 6 to 7 months, with an average weight of 8.01±2.50kg. They were housed in pens, on a floor space of 0.5 to 0.75m² in a completely randomized designed experiment replicated six times and fed for a period of 52 days. The results were separated according to the parameters of rumen physiology (pH, total volatile fatty acids, acetic, propionic, butyric acids and ethanol, and rumen ecology (bacteria, protozoa, and fungi, which are mainly anaerobic microbes). The investigations revealed that microbial (bacteria, protozoa and fungi) load counts were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. While the total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), acetic, butyric and propionic increased (p<0.05) except for the TVFA and the propionic acid that showed numerical (p>0.05) increased levels of (TMOW). The pH levels improved (p>0.05) between 6.7 to 6.8 where the rumen electrolytes (Ca, Na and K) increased (p<0.01) with increased levels of TMOW. Rumen moisture, dry matter and fat content were (p<0.01) influenced by TMOW diets while ash content was (p<0.01) influenced by the TMOW. Crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre and carbohydrate were not affected (p<0.01; p<0.05) affected. It is good to note that, the microbial community of snail used in the pre-feeding fermentation of municipal organic waste had influence in the physiology and rumen microbial ecology at interface with the goat, enhanced improved the organic matter degradation and feed quality, of the highly fibrous municipal organic solid waste.